Gary Lineker makes painful Thilo Kehrer pun as West Ham United defender flops at Arsenal
Thilo Kehrer provided the subject matter for a Gary Lineker pun as the West Ham defender was left bewildered by Eddie Nketiah at Arsenal.
Jarrod Bowen had won a first-half penalty which Said Benrahma converted for a surprise lead at the Emirates on Monday (26 December), but a stroke of luck and a Lukasz Fabianski error saw the game turn after the break.
After that the Gunners’ confidence was restored, as was demonstrated when Nketiah turned Kehrer with ease, leaving the German international for dead in the area before firing a third, which delighted Lineker.
Posting on his personal Twitter account after the third goal went in Lineker wrote: “Sensational goal from Arsenal. Nketiah lost his Kehrer.”
Move on
The frustration for West Ham fans on Boxing Day will come from the fact that their side had fashioned a lead and were doing just about enough to hold it for the best part of an hour.
But no tactical set ups can do anything about the fact that Martin Odegaard’s shot was skewing wide when it went straight to the feet of Bukayo Saka who finished.
Fabianski will be hurting as much as anyone for leaving a gap at his near post for Gabriel Martinelli to find from out wide, and the speed with which the Irons lost something to hold onto was a real blow.
Kehrer didn’t have his best game, but he was not the worst in the first half and was one of a few who faded badly as the 1-0 lead turned to a 2-1 deficit.
By the time he was turned by Nketiah the game looked lost in the minds of a few players, and David Moyes’ decision to wait until 10 minutes after his side had gone 3-1 down to make a substitution wasted any opportunity to fight back.
Lacking key players through injury in this game, as so often this year, didn’t help, while Lucas Paqueta was very disappointing for someone who cost so much and looked so potent in Qatar, and is a symbol of how the signings haven’t yet worked.
But games against fellow strugglers Everton, Leeds and Wolves are all coming up and will be far more important than a loss at the leaders, and results in those are a must.